Record in advance voting: 71 percent increase in particularly vulnerable areas
Advance voting in this year's parliamentary election has broken records, with the largest increase occurring in areas classified by the police as vulnerable and particularly vulnerable. According to a compilation of 36 advance polling stations in such areas, over 110,000 voters have cast their ballots early there, an increase of 57 percent compared to the 2022 election. In particularly vulnerable areas, the increase was 71 percent, compared to 19 percent nationwide.
The differences between individual locations are significant. In Gårdsten in northeastern Gothenburg, advance voting has increased by 136 percent. In Söder in Helsingborg, the increase is 155 percent, and in Hageby in Norrköping, it is 143 percent. In total, 3,642,832 people had cast their advance votes when the polling stations opened on Sunday morning, compared to about 3.1 million in the 2022 election.
The figures are significant here because voter turnout in these areas has historically been low. In the 2022 parliamentary election, only 55 percent of eligible voters in particularly vulnerable areas cast their ballots. In risk areas and vulnerable areas, turnout was just over 61 and 63 percent respectively, clearly below the national average. The City of Gothenburg has about 30 paid target group ambassadors whose mission is to increase voter turnout among certain groups, and they were working in Gårdsten's center on election day.
According to Zeth Isaksson, a researcher in political behavior at Stockholm University, advance voting has increased in every election since 2010. This year's figures could be a continuation of the same trend or a result of campaign efforts in immigrant-dense neighborhoods. He also points out that those who voted early in the last election were more likely to vote for the Social Democrats.
What this means for you: advance votes are counted on election night along with votes from the polling stations, but all votes are counted twice. The final vote count is conducted by the county administrative boards and begins on September 14. The figures presented during the night are therefore preliminary and may change, especially in close constituencies. The final result is determined by the Swedish Election Authority only a few days after election day.